Elbow dysplasia

J

JennyAus

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My 15 month old Rottie x Ridgeback has just been diagnosed with elbow dysplasia in his right front leg. The vet (a specialist I have been referred to) has put him on metacam and restricted exercise for 4 weeks and then will re-assess. Key hole surgery has been discussed as an option, but still won't "fix" him. I am heart broken, he is still such a baby and it is so difficult to restrict him. He is visibly limping, but doesnt stop him trying to charge about! My main concern is that the vet has said he might always have to be on metacam and might not ever be able to go off his lead - I really don't want that.
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Anyone any experiences that might make me feel better (or worse, if you have to!).

Thanks.
 
My rottie has mild elbow dysplacia but requires no treatment. Our old Rottie was on Metacam for arthritis and suffered no ill effects. I think vets give you the worst case scenario just in case. keep your fingers crossed for him and sending loads of vibes. Rottie ridgeback cross hey...my two favourite breeds. Would love to see a pic if you have one.
 
I'm not sure if elbow dysplasia is basically arthritis of the elbow? If so, my lab has this (along with hip dysplasia... ) and on metacam she is very good at the moment. We have taken a lot of weight off her which has really helped, swimming is fantastic for this as doesn't cause them pain.
Good luck with it all and know how devestating it is.
 
I know how heartbroken you feel. My staffie (in sig) was diagnosed with elbow dysplasia in both front legs at about 18 months (I had already taken him in at about 8 months because he was lame on & off - vet just said it was growing pains).

Referred to a specialist who x-rayed, it was ED and quite bad in both legs but he seemed to be lame mainly on the front left. Operation was never going to cure him but has definately made him much more comfortable & will give him a good few more years.

He was put on Previcox, just a half tablet per day was his dose. I stopped the Previcox after about 6 months after speaking to another vet who recommended only giving him a tablet when he seemed very lame.

We discussed more natural remedies, I now have him on Turmeric (which is an anti inflamatory), EPA Fish Oil (both from Holland & Barrett & only give him a Previcox when he really needs it, which is not very often. Also have him on cortaflex (canine), took him swimming for a couple of months, but he didn't like it.

He tears around the place, plays constantly and doesn't appear to be in any pain at all. You can see he's not completely sound but he genuinely seems very happy & comfortable.

So it's not the end of the world. They can cope just fine. There are things you can do yourself to minimise problems, ie, don't allow your dog to run up & down the stairs, jump off the furniture etc, but at the end of the day, to a certain degree, you have to let them be a dog.

My boy's almost 3 now and he is so full of life you would never know he has ED in both front legs.
 
poor little fella,

as other people have said we do give out worse case senarios, just to cover our backs! metacam is a great option long term as its pricey and does have a few contraindications.

however swimming is fab!! so good for them and they can tire themselves out as well, if your boy is insured your vet may be able to refer you and u can have hydro therapy on your insurance!!

best of luck with him
 
My lab went lame at just 6 months and ED was diagnosed in one elbow. I was offered the keyhole surgery but not only was it hideously expensive but they gave me a very low success rate. Eventually he got it in both elbows and now has a stilted gait. However, he is now nearly 6, he has cartrophen injections which really help him and he works during the shooting season, although I do choose shoots that are easy on him. Basically he leads a full and happy life as long as I am a bit careful - not too much road work or riding with me when the ground is very hard. Unfortunately he jumps, my heart is in my mouth when he does and it doesn't do him any good at all!

I really feel for you - I found it terribly upsetting and stressful when Toby was first diagnosed - one vet told me that if I didn't have the operation he would only live until about the age of 5. Well we have proved them wrong and although I don't suppose Toby will make old bones - he's had a hell of a good life up till now
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JA just tried the photo links again and they worked. Wow what a stunning lad he is! Seems to have more ridgeback than rottie. He is lovely and looks huge!!
 
I will have a quick chat with my husband tonight as he too is an small animal orthopaedic surgeon, he does hip replacements, referal work etc so I will ask him what he does for elbow dysplasia to see if it will shed some more light on your situation.
 
Thank you so much for all of the kind words and advice. It just makes me so sad, sat here getting tearful from all of your nice replies! He only started limping at about 12 months, and the specialist says this was probably delayed because he is very lean and we were always so careful what we fed him. Our local vet just put him on metacam and insisted he had just strained something, but I finally pushed for x-rays and saw a specialist who diagnosed him. He isn't insured, but i would pay for the operation if it would help him (they have indicated that it wouldnt really at the minute).

I have him on canine cortaflex and devils claw now as well as the metacam. He is still lame, but seems happy and charging round. Just seems so final, I have to stop saying "when Troy's leg gets better" because it isn't going to! He does like swimming in the lakes nearby, but the vet said that could make it worse as the ground will be soft and uneven on entry and exit to the lakes.
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SO I might try a hydrotherapy centre. Yesterday was the first day I have left him at home, normally he comes into work with me and plays with all the other dogs (work at an agricultural college). He seemed really confused when I got home as to why I had left him.
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Thank you Mattilda, I love him to bits but sometimes think thats just my Mummy-bias to him! He seems to have a rottie shape head but the rest is more ridgeback. He is the softest, sweetest dog - loves giving snuggles and kisses, and I have never met a dog or person he doesnt like. He even kisses my pet rabbits and mice!
 
Thanks Nijinsky.

So Tumeric tablets might be a good option for him as well as cortaflex (which he is already on). I have found these:

http://www.simplysupplements.net/turmeric-500mg-p-269.html?gclid=CKPhkqyX5ZQCFRMXQgodo2pJRw

At 500mg how many would you give a day? He is 40kg.

And its nice to hear a "success story" for ED (if you can call it that!). Your dog looks lovely and definitely sounds like he is coping well with it. He already isnt allowed upstairs (too clumsy, he used to fall down them!) or on the furniture (too big.....well occasionally when Dad isn't about and he wants a Mummy cuddle he does!).

Thanks x
 
Glad to be of help.

I buy the Turmeric in capsule form & just empty one capsule per day in his food, so I am sure 1 tablet per day would be ok but I'm not a vet, maybe worth checking with a natural/herbal type vet, I'm sure they could give you advice over the phone for free. The same with the fish oil, one capsule per day. I thought about cod liver oil but heard something about overdosing them on vitamin A, so stuck to the EPA fish oil.

I'm sure he'll cope ok. Good luck with him.
 
my boxer has bilateral elbow dysplasia. she was diagnosed at about 18mths and is 4.5yrs old now. she also has severe arthritis in her spine, but her elbows are doing just fine. she had a CT scan and then arthroscopy in her worst elbow to clean it all up. she's been on synoquin ever since and runs around like a loony. she's never needed nsaids for her elbows and they really dont bother her.
 
synoquin isn't a drug, it's a supplement - glucosamine and chondroitin - it's the best one i've found on the market and it works for her. it's better than metacam if it helps because it's not a drug and so has no side-effects. I wouldn't want a young dog on nsaids - they do have long term side-effects.

i would 100% go for arthroscopy and we may well need to repeat it with her in the future or do her other elbow. she was lame every day before surgery but now runs around like a loony. definitely no regrets. i assisted with the surgery and it was fascinating and just 2 tiny holes either side of elbow with one stitch in each - really very non-invasive surgery. arthroscopy is used all the time in horses with OCD (which is what ED is a form of) and it works fab - they wouldn't return to athletic use without it so i think it's definitely worthwhile for dogs too.
 
Thanks Star. The only thing that worries me about the surgery is that the vet (who is supposed to be a specialist) said he wouldn't do it and my dog would have to be "sent off" for it!?! Is it quite rare to find vets that will do it?
 
JennyAus - my boy was referred also. It is specialist surgery. He was in for about 3 days. I would much rather they were in the best place. These vets were great and knew their stuff. I have a scan of his elbow at home which I meant to post for you to look at.
 
my dog was referred to the RVC when i was at uni there. it is specialist stuff and needs an arthroscope which only the big places have.
 
Thanks Star. The only thing that worries me about the surgery is that the vet (who is supposed to be a specialist) said he wouldn't do it and my dog would have to be "sent off" for it!?! Is it quite rare to find vets that will do it?

I am suprised your Vet wont do the op if he is a specialist, it isn't as difficult as some surgery.
 
Try the synoquin and hydrotherapy before you go for surgery, any general anasthetic has a risk!

My Border Terrier basically has no hips, really awful hip dsyplasia, they wanted to chop both her hips at 6 mths.

We did 2 courses of hydrotherapy (agree hydro pool supervised much better than pond also they can get Weils disease from pond which killed my friends Rottie, a strain that isnt covered by their jabs :-() and she has been on Synoquin daily ever since. She isnt allowed to get overweight and is as fit as the proverbial fiddle. My insurance co didnt have a great reputation but they did pay for one of the hydro courses and all the vets fees. Maybe try this for a few months (maybe not leave it more than a year before deciding on eventual option as otherwise insurance if limited to 12 months might lead to an exclusion at renewal) .

Synoquin is just nutritive supplement, you can buy it cheaper from online pharmacy than from vet and it really helps build up tissue and also mild anti inflammatory effect.

To give you an idea of how fit the terrier is, our other dog is a 3 yo Doberman and she can keep up with him and then leap up and hand off his jowls (yes he is very tolerant!!).

I was devastated when my girlie was diagnosed but you wouldnt know anything was wrong with her at all.
 
Thank you for all of your opinions. At the moment we are just following the vet's advice, which is not to do surgery at the moment. He agrees 15 months is quite a late age for it to show, but it is at a very early stage as he hasn't been allow to grow too quickly. Vet advises surgery is an option later on when it gets worse, but pointless now (especially as no insurance!). Obviously don't want him to go in for surgery unless he has to, but when it becomes necessary we will have it done.

I have him on canine cortaflex, but will have a look at synoquin if the general opinion is that that is much better. Also going along to my nearest hydrotherapy centre tomorrow so hopefully they can help. Feeling much more positive now though, so thanks all!
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synoquin def better than cortaflex. cortaflex made no difference, synoquin keeps her sound. she was 15months when diagnosed as we didn't get her till a year old and she was fine for first few months. couldn't watch her limping around every day so got the surgery done, but she was insured and it was quite expensive. risk of GA for a young, healthy dog is negligible though - shouldn't really affect the deicision making.
 
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